Pavlok 2: the next gen Pavlok for breaking bad habits and creating good habits

After Pavlok and the Shock Clock, Behavioral Technology Group, Inc. now offers a 3rd device in the fight against bad habits. This one wants to help especially to get rid of your bad morning habits and to replace them with good ones. It is called the Pavlok 2 (formerly known as Pavlok Rise).

Upfront:

This post was written while the IndieGoGo crowdfunding campaign for Pavlok 2 was still ongoing. The Pavlok team uses the feedback from all the backers and newsletter recipients in an agile way, even during the campaign itself. Meaning: things are changing on the fly, so to speak. Even the product’s name changed from initially Pavlok Rise to Pavlok 2 during the campaign. Please also note that some of the features shown might still be under development, so images may be mock ups and the final product / user interface may be different from the final version which is supposed to ship in September 2017 [confirmation by the Pavlok team for this assumption is pending].

So this page here is supposed to give you a first overview of general aspects, and will be updated as soon as more and final info about the product is available.

Become the best version of yourself, with Pavlok 2

3 years after the extremely successful crowdfunding campaign for the first Pavlok (Pavlok 1, so to speak which raised more than $284,000 from various backers), after having presented the wearable on Shark Tank, and more than 45,000 Pavlok users later, Boston based Behavioral Technology Group Inc. launches their next break-through product with which they want to help you become the best version of yourself.

The company itself calls it “the first behavior change platform” and continues “Automatically track gestures, actions, and behaviors you do throughout the day. Pavlok can alert you when you’re about to do a bad habit, and encourage you when you do good habits.”

Here is the video for Pavlok 2 which was used for the crowdfunding campaign:

The innovative software of Pavlok 2 combines a wristband device with an iOS or Android application. In addition to wearing it with the wristband, you are also able to wear it only with a clip that attaches to any standard size wristband (like the one of a watch).

While Pavlok 2 can help you get rid of variety of bad habits, it focuses also heavily on morning routines. Why? Because they set the tone for the rest of the day, so to speak.

And this is a major difference between the initial Pavlok and the new Pavlok 2: While the ‘old’ Pavlok is focused on destroying bad habits, the new Pavlok can now also help you to actually create good ones, such as going to bed on time and then creating a morning routine to kickstart your day.

So, if your morning routine leaves something to be desired and does more harm than good to your productivity, it is time for a change. But hitting the snooze button repeatedly shows that you need more incentive than an alarm clock delivers. In connection with the included five day program about habit change you will have a powerful tool at hand to crack the code regarding bad and good habits.

What is this technology and how does it benefit you?

The Pavlok Rise module inside the Pavlok Core app

image credit: Behavioral Technology Group, Inc.

This is a situation where the Pavlok 2 makes the difference. The wearable technology can now turn your sleep routine into a powerhouse of effectiveness, by using the Pavlok Rise module that comes with the new and revised Pavlok app (called Pavlok Core).

Rather than merely tracking your sleep patterns and letting you access the data, the wearable changes the way you think and embrace rest.

Sleep time reminders help you unplug at night. It is easy to get caught up in checking social media or sending out a few more emails. Insistent but friendly reminders ensure that you turn off the computer and head to bed on time.

Wake up reminders take place during your light sleep phase. This timing prevents you from rising out of deep sleep cycles, which keeps you dragging through the morning. The result is a feeling of having slept well and waking up refreshed. This is accomplished by being able to set a 30 minutes time window in which you want to get up. The highly advanced motion sensor technology inside Pavlok 2 will wake you up when you move or turn around in your sleep (during a lighter sleep phase rather than during deep sleep).

Build a morning routine that makes sense for you. Everyone is different, and Pavlok knows that. To ensure that you find a cycle, which works for you, and then stick with it, you have the opportunity to connect with a community that has the same need. Mutual accountability is a great way of getting and staying on track. You can also choose from the pre-set morning routines of ‘productivity influencers’, such as successful author JJ Virgin (see screenshot below), or even the morning routine of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, and Ernest Hemingway!

Form great sleep habits. Nightly rest is non-negotiable for your cognitive and physical functioning. Far too often, sleep suffers to allow time for hobbies or work. When you change your focus and make sleep one of your scheduled appointments, other areas fall into place.

image credit: Behavioral Technology Group, Inc.

App ecosystem & the Pavlok Core app

One central piece of the success of the new, revised and heavily upgraded Pavlok 2 wearable will be the app ecosystem which seems no finally within reach. What does that mean? Just like the App Store made the iPhone the extremely useful tool it is for just about anything, such an app ecosystem can play the same important role for the usefulness of the Pavlok device.

This ecosystem of apps was already part of the strategic plans during the very first Pavlok campaign in 2013. Of course, creating such a platform is no small feat at all. But now it seems to be within reach. And Pavlok Rise will be one of the modules that can be found inside the launcher of the Pavlok Core app. By achieving your habit goals, you can even unlock new modules inside Pavlok Core. As written above: Pavlok Rise helps you go to sleep on time, wake up early, and form the morning routines of the world’s most successful people in terms of productivity.

image credit: Behavioral Technology Group, Inc.

This also means that not only the Pavlok team can create apps inside their Pavlok Core app, but that also external developers will be able to write apps for the Pavlok 2 which they can then publish in the ‘Pavlok app store’. The possibilities to tackle habits successfully will practically be limitless, and creative minds will be able to translate their ideas into useful apps!

This is surely a huge step towards Pavlok becoming the ultimate tool in the fight against bad habits and the quest for creating good habits. You can download the Pavlok app from the Google Play or App Store. It seamlessly pairs with your Pavlok device, which lets you stay connected throughout the day, ensuring that it is as battery efficient as possible.

Machine Learning Gesture Detection / Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A major change with the next generation device is also the fact that it integrates AI and machine learning. What does that mean?

Pavlok 2 can now record gestures and motions, and trigger stimuli based on those gestures. This technology is still in the early phase [confirmation by the Pavlok team of this statement is pending], so the early backers of Pavlok 2 can become part of the “Be Part of Pavlok’s DNA” perk of the crowdfunding campaign. This way the Machine Learning system gets trained on human gesture detection. Which is cool because it does not limit Pavlok 2 to a fixed set of motions, but that there’s practically no limit to the number of human gestures which can be recognized by Pavlok and which are associated to bad habits. Customization for your own movements included!

AI makes it possible to understand your ideal amount of sleep. This results in personalized reminders based on your sleeping needs and patterns, rather than a standard process that works for some but not for all. Just like a Tesla Model S is able to give you feedback on how to drive more efficiently based also on past driving behavior, the AI in Pavlok basically can do the same for your habits.

now available: a step counter

Because it was a feature much requested by the Pavlok users, Pavlok 2 also has a step counter.

Social accountability

Because holding ourselves accountable to our goals can play an important part in reaching these goals, social accountability is also a part of Pavlok 2. This is basically achieved through the Pavlok Community. By being a Pavlok user you will also become part of the fast growing community of ‘Pavlokians’.

image credit: Behavioral Technology Group, Inc.

Pavlok also has a partnership with Coach.me to take things to the next level. This means: accountability on demand for your routines & habits. Coach.me aims to help you reach your habit goals through coaching, community, and data. In addition, through Coach.me you have an actual real life coach to help you stay on track through text, email, and phone. As backer of the Pavlok 2 crowdfunding campaign you will receive one week of free accountability coaching, which you can continue for an additional cost through Coach.me.

You can also join the official Pavlok 2 Facebook Group to ask questions and to find accountability partners.

Last but not least, here some general technical features which you might find interesting:

new sensors to track gestures

faster processor

9-axis accelerometer

redesigned Bluetooth antenna for better connectivity

thinner band made from mesh

seamless pairing between the app and your Anroid or iOS smartphone

4+ days battery life

no need to stay connected with the smartphone for the alarm to go off

The main differences between the original Pavlok and Pavlok 2

Of course, with three Pavlok devices to choose from, there will be questions regarding the differences. On the one hand we have the new, next gen Pavlok 2, on the other hand there are the original Pavlok and the Shock Clock.

Here a short overview of general and technical differences, which should help you decide what’s the best choice for you:

1) The differences between Pavlok 1/2 and the Shock Clock

In as few words as possible:
The Shock Clock is basically a stripped down (and therefore more economic) version of the original Pavlok wristband. It was developed because the Pavlok team received a lot of feedback from their users that one of their main issues was getting out of bed in the morning. For the people interested only in this feature and in order not having to pay for additional features, the Shock Clock was born.

It seems logical to assume that the Shock Clock will remain on the market despite the Pavlok 2, just as it has been co-existing with the original Pavlok. The reason for this assumption is the above stated fact of giving people a more economic choice for a stripped down version of Pavlok. It also seems logical to assume that the Shock Clock will see a heavy technology upgrade at some point.

You can get more details about the Shock Clock on the page dedicated to the Shock Clock.

2) The differences between the original Pavlok (‘Pavlok 1’) and Pavlok 2

image credit: Behavioral Technology Group, Inc.

All in all, the old and the new Pavlok still share the same main goal: to help you become a better (or even the best) version of yourself. It still uses beep, vibration and/or electric impulses in connection with your habits, and a customization of these reminders is also possible.

The difference: the Pavlok 2 is basically a better version of Pavlok 1, with much more capabilities and much better technology to support it (as you could read above in the technology related section of this post). While with the original Pavlok it was necessary to hit the zap button for your bad habits, the 2. iteration of the wristband is much smarter, e.g. because of its much better gesture detection (the original wristband has a much more basic version included that is not able to learn, like Pavlok 2).

It seems logical to assume that, because Pavlok 2 is an upgrade of the Pavlok 1 device, sooner or later the original Pavlok will be discontinued [confirmation by the Pavlok team of this assumption is pending].

Depending on the success of the crowdfunding campaign, there will be more features available, due to stretch goals that can be reached.

What does that mean to existing users of the original Pavlok?

The technology changes to Pavlok 2 are so big that it will not be possible to simply upgrade the original Pavlok ‘over the air’ through downloading an upgrade of the software (e.g. like you can do with a Tesla).

Can you upgrade from your old Pavlok device to the Pavlok 2 then? Yes, that is indeed possible. It does involve buying a new Pavlok 2 device, though. During the crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo there is a ‘secret perk’ for existing users.

This means that for a drastically reduced price (“it doesn’t get any cheaper than this”), as an existing user you can get the full benefits of the next gen device. It’s not ideal, but that’s the case with pretty much any you technology you buy: there will always be a more advanced model (usually rather sooner than later) which makes the current model outdated, and either you keep the old model (or sell it), or you buy the next generation one.

Who should take advantage of the Pavlok 2?

If you hit the snooze button once, twice, or even more frequently in the morning, Pavlok 2 is for you. But whatever bad habit you want to get rid of, or whatever good habit you want to create: Pavlok 2 could be just the tool to where looking for as support.

If you have tried pretty much everything on the planet, but are not yet giving up on yourself, then Pavlok might be able to do the trick, like it was able to do for many other ‘Pavlokians’ so far.

What does Pavlok 2 cost, and what do you get for your money?

During this time, price points for the device vary, depending on the product setup you prefer and depending on your timing (early bird specials for the first people backing Pavlok 2).

At the time of this writing, the Pavlok team had a very time limited offer for the ones who want to back and receive the Pavlok 2, but who don’t want to wait until September 2017 when shipping is scheduled to start. The offer: buy now an original Pavlok (‘Pavlok 1’), which will be sent to you asap after you order, and get the Pavlok 2 as well, for only $149,99 instead of the regular price of $399,98!

You can click the below banner to see if the offer is still (or again) available by the time you read this post:

By the way: there is an incredible 180 (!) days money back guarantee when you buy the original Pavlok (no refunds on backing the Pavlok 2 crowd funding campaign).

Pavlok promises to turn you into the (morning) person you need to be – and to make it a fun process. Who could resist having this advantage? 🙂Pre-Order your Pavlok 2